Time to vote for the Rockford Register Star Student of the Week for April 8-12
The nominations are in for Rockford Register Star Student of the Week.
This week's finalists include a quiet leader, a student who is new to the country and a third who excels in theater and quiz bowl.
We publish a list of Student of the Week finalists every Monday at rrstar.com and every Tuesday in the Rockford Register Star. Readers can vote online as many times as they wish until 11 a.m. Thursday.
The winner of the online poll is announced at rrstar.com every Friday and in print Sunday in the Rockford Register Star.
Here are this week's finalists.
Sam Boyle, Boylan
Sam Boyle is a senior at Boylan Catholic High School. According to his nominator, Boyle is a quiet leader and mature beyond his years.
"He lives in a way that keeps him motivated and moral. Boyle is grateful, polite, and one of the nicest young people at Boylan. He shows everyone patience and kindness and is affirming to all students. He is a joy to have in class and a proud Titan."
Joshua Reid, Keith
Joshua Reid, 17, is a junior at Keith Country Day School and young man of many talents. Some of accomplishments and activities recently starring in three one-act productions at Keith School: "Millionaire's Dinner Party," "The Lottery," and "The Day the Internet Died." He competes on the Model United Nations Team represented the country of Greece this year in the International Court of Justice committee.
He has leadership roles in Student Council and the Student Elective Board, is a member of the tennis team and three-year quiz bowl team member. He also volunteers on weekends and travels with the middle school quiz bowl teams and coaches the middle school "A" team. Reid is known in the quiz bowl community as the "singing coach" as he sings silly pop songs loudly and enthusiastically to pump up the team. Reid is described as "a true gem of a helper and assistant coach." Outside of school, Reid plays baseball on a travel team.
Pendeza Sami, East
Pendeza Sami, 16, is a junior at East High School. She was nominated by Susan Griffeth, East's Newcomer/ESL science and math teacher. Sami, who hails from Tanzania, is new to Rockford and to the country.
Sami is working diligently to learn the English language. Almost daily, she is the first among her peers to arrive at school. Rockford winters are nothing like what she is used to in Tanzania. Yet, Sami walks almost 2 miles to school year-round. Sami is a hard worker who has maxed out minutes on electronic learning tools like System 44, Read 180, and Khan Academy. Since November, she has spent more than 215 hours learning math independently on Khan Academy. Sami is a peaceful and calming presence in the classroom. She focuses on learning in every environment the school provides.
Chris Green is a Rockford Register Star general assignment reporter. He can be reached at 815-987-1241, via email at cgreen@rrstar.com and Twitter @chrisfgreen.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Vote now for Rockford Register Star Student of the Week
